New Report Examines Market Potential
Seen in the past mainly as a safety hazard for coal miners and a costly nuisance for mine operators, CMM is now being widely studied and exploited.
Coalmine methane (CMM), for centuries the bane of canaries and miners, now offers potential as an alternative fuel source. A new report from Energy Business Reports examines the market potential for this energy source.
Coal bed methane (CBM) refers to methane deposits in the pores of coal seams. The methane is in a near-liquid state, contained in tiny pockets within the coal. Coalmine methane (CMM) is released when coal is fractured during mining operations.
Seen in the past mainly as a safety hazard for coal miners and a costly nuisance for mine operators, CMM is now being widely studied and exploited. A number of countries are currently exploiting CMM, including Australia, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Japan, Poland, the UK, and the U.S. Globally, recovery projects utilize three distinct types of coal bed methane to varying extents: Drained coal mine methane gas from active mines (or drained gas); collected methane from abandoned mines (AMM); and captured ventilation air methane (VAM). Three commercially available technologies can be used to generate power from drained CMM - internal combustion engines, gas turbines, and microturbines.
There are a variety of profitable uses for CMM, including natural gas pipeline injection for resale, fuel for on-site or off-site electricity production, fuel for co-firing boilers, fuel for on-site or off-site heat, and use as an industrial feedstock. Capture and use of CMM has benefits for the local and also the greater global environment, including the mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions and the utilization of an otherwise wasted clean energy resource. In addition, other ancillary benefits can include improved mine safety and mine productivity as well as energy and economic independence.
There are a number of negative environmental impacts associated with capture and use of CBM/CMM including climate change, effects on drinking water, air quality, and surface disturbances. Nevertheless, the sharp rise in energy prices has renewed focus on coal bed methane and coalmine methane projects in coal-producing countries around the world. Additionally, several other factors have prompted a resurgent interest in CMM projects. First, the steep growth in global energy demand has catalyzed the search for new, unconventional sources of natural gas and power. Second, programs, such as the Kyoto Protocol's Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) and Joint Implementation (JI), have created financial incentives to develop projects that reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Third, multi-national collaborative initiatives such as the Methane to Markets Partnership have focused on overcoming the policy, regulatory, legal, and technical barriers that inhibit project development.
CBM/CMM utilization projects are in the operational, development, or planning stages in at least 13 countries. The total methane emission reductions that could be achieved by these projects are approximately 135 billion cubic feet (Bcf) per year (equal to 14.8 million tons of carbon equivalent per year). This global activity level reflects a growing awareness of the technological practicality and the economic attractiveness of coalmine methane recovery and use.
The U.S. EPA's Coalbed Methane Outreach Program (CMOP) estimates that there are over 200 CMM projects in operation around the world. Many more project opportunities exist, especially in developing countries and countries in transition. These opportunities are being eagerly pursued and encouraged by project developers, technology vendors, coalmine companies, and government officials.
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About the Publisher: This report is published by Energy Business Reports , an energy industry think tank and leading source for energy industry information and research products.
To read more about this topic, see 'Coal Bed Methane Global Market Potential'
Showcase PE Skills Instead of Music Skills
Students in Elementary Schools love to share their talents and to basically ‘show off’. Teachers have found a multitude of ways to let them share their talents and knowledge through Science Fairs, History Days, Plays, Musicals, Programs, Spelling Bees and many other things, but rarely have they done anything with PE Skills other than to play sports.
Science teachers use Science Fairs to display science skills and knowledge. History and Social Studies teachers developed History Days so that students could display their knowledge and skills in the history area. Music teachers put on musicals and drama teachers us plays to show those skills. Elementary teachers use a variety of all the above.
What about a Physical Education teacher? Sports is different that Physical Education. Some parents think that PE at school is just play time. Maybe it is in some schools but in many schools it is a time to teach students different skills. It’s a time to be active, a time to learn about different sports, a time to exercise and gain coordination skills. So after a year of teaching all of these skills why not showcase these skills and show parents what their students can do. I think this is a great idea because it will give parents a better appreciation for what the PE teachers all over this country are doing.
These PE teachers are not just giving the classroom teaches a break or the students a break from book work. They are trying to instill in the students a desire to be active and healthy. They are trying to teach those skills and activities that they can use beyond high school.
PE teachers in the elementary school could show case what they have been teaching their students as young as first grade. By the time the students reach 6th grade they have learned enough that the teacher could also include a section where the students can display skills that they have learned else where. Such as; in gymnastic classes, dance classes, all the different sports and just plain fun activities like playing a game of tag. Anything that shows off active, happy students.
PE teachers take a chance and display what you have been teaching and let those students show off all the skill they have been learning. It really could be fun. Put the audience on the stage and have the students use the gym floor as their stage. During the skills, and different routines have a couple of games where the parents can come down and have some fun with them. This was a real winner when we did it. We had parents in shorts, and suits, dresses and work clothes out on the floor having fun with the student. It was a real success
A beginner's guide to meditation
Meditation is one of the most powerful tools for transformation. Unfortunately for many conventional people it is a “bit too out there”, so it is put in a box only to be used by the likes of martial artists and yogis. I believe meditation however need not be put in a box for the few but is a tool we all inherently know but just have forgotten how to use it in daily life.
As a kid who loved martial arts films my impression was that meditation would be like magic and would give me special powers.
Unfortunately however when I began to meditate through learning martial arts it was more a case of suddenly finding out how much chatter was going on inside my head (in fast forward). Over the years I have experienced various meditation styles and experiences and would like to share some very simple techniques in this article with you and perhaps invite you to the possibility of introducing some form of meditation into your life.
What is meditation?
Over 1500 years ago the ancient sage Patanjali wrote the yoga sutra’s (the original term yoga refers not to physical postures like hatha yoga but a connection to the inner self i.e. meditation) which consisted of 196 aphorisms on the art of meditation. He said:
“Yoga is the effort to still the thought and feeling waves of the mind.” (1)
However this effort comes from a calm and relaxed place whereby
the body is relaxed
the mind is quiet
the attention is focussed in the moment (not the past or the future)
This therefore does not mean you need to be sitting crossed legged and still with the eyes closed, that’s just one way. You could be meditating while listening to music, enjoying a cup of tea or playing with your pet.
You can meditate on: your breath, nature, a mantra, sensations in your body, even the noise outside – there are limitless possibilities. It is a matter of focus and therefore quieting the chatter otherwise known as the “monkey mind”.
Health benefits of meditation
Reducing your stress levels is without a doubt one of the most important components to living a long and healthy life.
Here are but a few examples of how through meditation we can promote health:
- By reducing muscle tension that can lead to pain and dysfunction
- Through stimulating the immune szstem and the healing process
- Increasing blood circulation and the functioning to our digestive system (which among other systems shuts down when stressed)
- Balancing left and right brain activity otherwise known as the thinking vs. feeling sides. Today most people are caught at one extreme especially the left or thinking hemisphere
Reducing the amount and severitz of hypertensive conditions including insomnia, headaches and migraines
Here a few different styles or examples of meditation:
1. Breathe Meditation
This meditation incorporates also belly breathing exercise – which most people have lost the ability to do and can dramatically improve your health alone by increasing the amount of oxygen you take in (2 birds with one stone).
To begin belly breathing:
1. Lie on your back on the floor or alternatively in a comfortable chair.
2. Place your hands on your belly and begin to slowly inhale allowing the breath to expand the belly raising the hands up.
3. Breathe in for a count of 4, breathe out for a count of 6, increase the length of the breath keeping the out-breath two counts longer than the in-breathe – only go to a comfortable point then stay there (try breathing through the nose). Once connected to your belly breathe try placing your awareness on a point just below the nose and feel the sensation of the breath coming in and out. As your mind drifts away just gently bring it back to the sensation.
2. Body Scan
This meditation can be done at a number of times during the day including at red lights in the car or before falling asleep. Take a moment to scan the body from the feet through each body part to the head, the more time permits the more detail.
For example: Right foot, right calf, right thigh (then left side), hips, belly, solar plexus, chest, back, shoulders, right hand, right arm (left side), neck, head.
3. Walking Meditation
Do you find that you are always in a rush to get somewhere? Next time you go walking try slowing right down and practice this meditation. With each step correspond it to breathing in or out. Feel the weight shift through the movement of the feet from lifting, then shifting, to returning to the ground. Look straight ahead and let the eyes soften to observe the sensations within the body including the weight shift. Just 10 minutes a day will go a long way to a more relaxed mind.
Resources on meditation:
If you would like to learn more and importantly experience what meditation can offer then here are three possible places to go:
1. For those interested in a good book on meditation I thoroughly recommend:
Happy for no good reason by Swami Shankaranda.
It is an excellent manual on meditation including a CD to guide your practice.
2. There are also many centres that teach short courses in meditation, just check out your local directory. In London the best known is through: www.meditateinlondon.org.uk
3. For those after an intensive meditation course then this may be for you - 10 days silent retreat meditation.
It was definitely one of the most rewarding and challenging experiences I have ever had.
Vipassana meditation www.dharma.org (world wide organisation – funded by donations)
Happy Meditating :)
Your 3d coach
Craig Burton
Reference
1. Happy for no good reason, Swami Shankaranda, 2000, Information Australia
Article by Craig Burton. Craig is a prominent European based holistic health and fitness coach and founder of 3D Personal Training Systems. Craig is a Sports Science graduate with postgraduate accreditations in nutrition, massage, athletic training, and corrective exercise therapy.
He is the author of "The 21 Day Roadmap to Health" available at http://www.21dayroadmap.com.
Receive your FREE 3d pts tools including the 7 Part Series: Success Strategies for transforming the body, mind and spirit, our FREE monthly Peak Performance Newsletter and our FREE questionnaire to find out more about your current health status at http://www.3dpts.com/freetools.
For more information and articles on health and fitness visit http://www.3dpts.com/articles.
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